Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Having a Coke with You

is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonneor being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelonapartly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastianpartly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurtpartly because of the fluorescent orange tulips around the birchespartly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuaryit is hard to believe when I’m with you that there can be anything as stillas solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when right in front of itin the warm New York 4 o’clock light we are drifting back and forthbetween each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles

and the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paintyou suddenly wonder why in the world anyone ever did them

I lookat you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the worldexcept possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally and anyway it’s in the Frickwhich thank heavens you haven’t gone to yet so we can go together the first timeand the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurismjust as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase orat a rehearsal a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo that used to wow meand what good does all the research of the Impressionists do themwhen they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sankor for that matter Marino Marini when he didn’t pick the rider as carefullyas the horse

it seems they were all cheated of some marvelous experiencewhich is not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

It's been almost two months that I've been home and looking for work, which I realize is not all that bad in this economy of ours. However, it's taken me about this long to come up with a routine for myself and find outlets that allow me to stay relatively sane. Below are some of my tips on how to survive any bout of unemployment.

1. Set an alarmOne of the few perks of unemployment is that you get to sleep in...right? While that was lovely and luxurious at first, it eventually made me feel slothful and unproductive. Do yourself a favor and set an alarm for a reasonable hour; you'll find your days will be a lot longer and you'll have plenty of time to scour job boards, write cover letters and take regular screaming breaks.

2. NetworkIt's way more fun than sending your resume into the unresponsive stratosphere of online job sites. It kind of makes you feel like you're getting somewhere, and you'll meet cool people who like the same things you do.

3. ExerciseTake advantage of the fact that you're not tethered to a desk from 9-6 (yet). Go to the gym or go for a run whenever you feel like you deserve a break; it will significantly increase your mood and make you feel productive even on the most dead-end of job-hunting days.

4. Get a part-time job if you canA restaurant, baby-sitting or retail job is a great way to give your life structure and cash flow. If you can't, volunteer. For money, sell your stuff on eBay, Etsy, or at a local thrift store.

5. Take the night offMy dad always says, "Your job is to find a job." So give yourself a certain amount of hours of work everyday, and then give yourself the evenings off. Meet friends for drinks, cook dinner, or lie in bed and watch all three seasons of "Parks and Recreation." For example.

6. Be open to everythingTake all the advice, suggestions and leads that you get. You never know what might come your way.

Monday, June 27, 2011

I spent this past weekend at my friend's country house in Upstate New York. My phone had no service and it was the most peaceful couple of days I've experienced in a long time. We woke up to a rainy Saturday, read our books in the screened in porch, ate homemade jam, then put on our raincoats and went for a walk in the woods.

This morning I skimmed through 300 unread blogposts in my reader, purely out of a strange sense of duty. It's a beautiful day and I've yet to go outside. Something tells me I need to pull myself away from my computer, from my phone, for longer than just a weekend.